The curtain will finally come down on the Post Primary Schools Futsal calendar next week with a tantalizing All Ireland show/down in store for all to see: The event will take place in the National Futsal Arena, Ballymun on Tuesday, 23 February:
Boys and girls of all sporting abilities will be hoping to emulate the talents of former futsal players such as Lionel Messi, Zico, Juninio, Kaka and Ronaldo:
Futsal is said to be the world’s most played small sided sport with 25 million participants: The game is praised for the number of star footballers it has nurtured over the years: Therefore it’s not surprising to hear that Brazil is estimated to have more Futsal players than football players: The two disciplines complement each another brilliantly:
These legends of the football world have inspired youngsters to get involved and in doing so have increased the profile of Futsal on an International scale:
Futsal is the official indoor version of “the beautiful game”: It’s a fantastic way for young players to develop and improve their football abilities in a highly paced environment: The nature of the game creates an emphasis on improvisation, creativity, technique as well as ball control and passing in confined spaces:
The competition now in its second year has grown steadily with participation at an all time high: The competition caters for boys and girls in first year: Competitions commenced in December with schools progressing from County, Regional and Provincial level to the All Ireland series:
As part of the FAI Schools development programme, Futsal is used as a way of introducing youngsters to the game of football and thus increasing grassroots participation within the sport:
Over 6,000 students have taken part in the FAI Schools Futsal Initiative inside a four month period in Primary & Post Primary Schools throughout Ireland:
Tom Bolger, Chairman, FAI Schools paid tribute to the enormous contribution of the FAI’s Regional Development Officers in overseeing the competitions at local level:
“The growth of the game within the schools structure can be attributed to the hard work being done at local level by the Development Officers, they play a vital role in the success of the initiative each year”:
The climax of the Post Primary School’s event will see the cream of schools Futsal on display in Ballymun next week:
The focus will be on our local talent with eight schools competing for the coveted title of All Ireland Post Primary Schools Futsal Champions:
Schools from Kilkenny, Kerry, Mayo and Cavan will contest the Girls Section while Meath, Limerick, Roscommon and Donegal will all challenge for the crown in the Boys Section:
The four girls Provincial finalists have created great excitement to their respective schools with their progression to the National stage: Loreto Secondary School, Causeway Comprehensive School, Davitt College and Bailieborough Community School are all within striking distance of the silverware:
Loreto Secondary School in Kilkenny defeated reigning All Ireland Champions Moyne Community School in their respective Provincial Final so they will be one to watch out for going forward:
The boys draw will be a closely fought encounter with St: Peter’s College, Dunboyne, Limerick CBS, Scoil Mhuire, Strokestown and St: Columbas College in Stranorlar all bidding for glory:
Reigning All Ireland Boys Champions, St: Joseph’s College, Galway (known locally as the Bish) didn’t progress in their County Final to defend their title this year so it’s all to play for in the boys division:
Ian Carry, National Development Officer for Schools will oversee proceedings on the day and is very excited by the fixtures on display:
"Futsal is the way we see football being taken forward in the country and from what I have seen at Provincial finals nationwide and in Dublin, it is very encouraging,"
"Players like Fernando Torres have been brought up from a background of playing Futsal and it can be a benefit to our young players:"
The competition has proven to be very successful at local level and this is evident with the huge numbers of entrants and the sheer quality of Futsal being demonstrated: The competition has caught the imagination of everybody involved and should prove highly entertaining for the travelling supporters when the games commence:::
For further information on the event or images of participating schools please contact Diane Fay, FAI Schools on 01 8999 522:
FAI Schools Post Primary Schools All Ireland Futsal Finals
National Futsal Arena, Trinity Comprehensive School, Ballymun
Tuesday, 23 February (11am/3pm)
GIRLS FIXTURES: Group Stages
Loreto Kilkenny v Causeway Comprehensive
Davitt College v Bailieborough
Loreto Kilkenny v Davitt College
Causeway Comprehensive v Bailieborough
Loreto Kilkenny v Bailieborough
Davitt College v Causeway Comprehensive
BOYS FIXTURES: Group Stages
St: Peter’s College v Limerick CBS
Scoil Mhuire v St Columbas
St Peter’s College v Scoil Mhuire
Limerick CBS v St Columbas
St Peter’s College v St Columbas
Scoil Mhuire v Limerick CBS
Provincial Finals Round Up:::
::: find out exactly how the schools progressed to the All Ireland Finals
LEINSTER FINALS
The winners from North Leinster, South Leinster, Mid Leinster and Dublin battled it out for the Leinster title in the Futsal Arena in Ballymun on 26 January:
Both the Boys and Girls tournaments had a group of four teams which saw each team play against each other, after which the top two teams qualified for the Leinster final whilst the third and fourth placed teams in the group played off to determine their final placing:
The Girls section consisted of Moyne Community School (Longford), St: Marys College (Naas, Co: Kildare), Loreto Balbriggan (Dublin) and eventual winners Loreto Secondary School (Kilkenny):
After six high scoring group games which saw 30 goals scored, Moyne C:S: topped the group and were joined in the final by Loreto Kilkenny:
The 3rd/4th place playoff was won by St: Marys College after a narrow 2/1 victory over a spirited Loreto Ballbriggan outfit:
The Final proved to be an exciting affair and both teams had early chances before Loreto Kilkenny opening the scoring midway through the first half, the talented Kilkenny girls added a second before half/time and went into the break two goals to the good:
Moyne C:S: were forced to go on the offensive and as they tried in vain to break down the stubborn Kilkenny defence they were caught on the counter attack and Loreto sealed a fine victory with a brilliant individual goal: The final score was 3/0 and the Kilkenny girls will now represent Leinster in next month’s All/Ireland finals:
The Boys section was contested by Gaelcholaiste Na Mara (Arklow, Co: Wicklow), Maynooth Post Primary (Kildare), Skerries Community College (Dublin) and St: Peters College (Dunboyne, Co: Meath): The teams were very closely matched and the group games were all very competitive and entertaining: St: Peters College and Gaelcholaiste Na Mara finished first and second respectively and advanced to the final whilst Maynooth Post Primary defeated Skerries C:C: 5/3 in the 3rd/4th place playoff:
The Final was a tense game as both teams took very little risk for fear of conceding a goal and the teams were scoreless at half/time:
In the second half the game began to open up and there were chances at either end but both goalkeepers and defences came out on top and the game finished 0/0 after neither team could break the deadlock: The game went to penalty kicks and although St: Peters College missed their first spot kick, they went on to win 2/0 in the shootout to earn the title of Leinster champions:
Loreto Kilkenny (Girls) and St: Peters College, Dunboyne (Boys) will now move on to the All/Ireland Finals on February 23 in the Futsal Arena where they will compete with the winners from Munster, Connacht and Ulster for the All/Ireland titles:
LEINSTER GIRLS RESULTS
Loreto Balbriggan 0/6 Moyne CS
Loreto Kilkenny5/0 St Mary’s College
Loreto Balbriggan 0/5 Loreto Kilkenny
Moyne CS 0/0 St Mary’s College
Loreto Balbriggan 2/7 St Mary’s College
Loreto Kilkenny 2/3 Moyne CS
3rd - 4th Place Play Off
St: Mary’s College 2/1 Loreto Balbriggan
FINAL
Moyne CS 0/3 Loreto Kilkenny
LEINSTER BOYS RESULTS
Skerries CC 1/2 St Peter’s College
Gaelcholaiste na Mara 1/0 Maynooth PP
Skerries CC 0/2 Gaelcholaiste
St Peter’s College 2/0 Maynooth PP
Skerries CC 1/4 Maynooth PP
Gaelcholaiste 1/2 St: Peter’s College
3rd - 4th Place Play Off
Maynooth PP 5/3 Skerries CC
FINAL
St: Peter’s College 0/0 Gaelcholaiste na Mara (2/0 Pens to St: Peter’s College)
MUNSTER FINALS
The FAI Schools First Year Girl’s Futsal Munster Finals took place on Monday, 1 February at Great Island Community Centre, Cobh, Co: Cork:
Five teams took part on the day, Salesian’s Secondary School, North Circular Rd:, Limerick City (9 Players), Presentation School, Thurles, Co: Tipperary (10 Players), Causeway School, Co: Kerry (12 Players), Ursaline School, Waterford City (10 Players), and Christ the King School, Cork (11 Players):
Each school was very well represented on the day by their Futsal soccer team, with players from Counties Tipperary, Cork, and Waterford having players that have also been on FAI Women’s Unit programmes such as the Winter Training Camp and the Emerging Talent Programme:
The Final was hotly contested between Christ the King School Co: Cork and Causeway School Co: Kerry, with FAI Development Officer for North Tipperary, James Scott having the unenviable task of refereeing it!
After 10 fast and furious minutes, and several shots on goal later, it was Causeway School from Co: Kerry who were crowned FAI Schools First Year Girl’s Munster Futsal Champions!
This school with a tradition up to now of Basketball and Gaelic Football are new to the game of soccer, and has made terrific ground considering their first steps in the game: It must be something in the Kerry air!
The FAI Schools First Year Boys Munster Futsal Finals were held on Monday 1 February in Cork Institute of Technology:
The 6 counties were represented with some thrilling games and talented players on show:
All teams played each other in a league system with the top 2 teams progressing on to the final: The Cork representatives were quick out of the traps winning their first two games scoring 8 goals sand conceding none:
High School Clonmel who ran out winners last year also looked impressive in the league stage winning 4 and drawing one game on their way to the final:
The battle for second place was enthralling to say the least with CBS Sexton Street from Limerick and Cork both finishing the league stage on the same number of points: Therefore a play/off was required between the two schools to see who would go on and play against the High School in the final: This was a very tight contest with a late goal from CBS Sexton street meaning they progressed to the final on a score line of 2/1:
The Final then paired CBS Sexton Street with High School Clonmel: The High School came out on top in the league game earlier in the day on a score line of 2/1: This game was played at a fantastic pace with both sides playing some super futsal: Having the momentum of winning the play off match CBS Sexton Street started brighter and raced in to a 2/0 lead before half time:
High School Clonmel inevitably came back into the game in the second half and pulled a goal back only to see CBS Sexton Street claim the Munster title with a late goal to run out eventual winners on a 3/1 score line:
Boys Results:
Cork 4 Waterford 0
Kerry 1 Clare 1
Limerick 1 Tipperary 2
Clare 0 Cork 4
Kerry 1 Limerick 1
Clare 0 Tipperary 3
Kerry 3 Waterford 0
Limerick 2 Waterford 0
Kerry 0 Tipperary 2
Clare 1 Limerick 3
Cork 1 Tipperary 1
Clare 1 Waterford 1
Kerry 0 Cork 2
Tipperary 4 Waterford 1
Limerick 1 Cork 0
Boys Playoff match for second place
Cork 1 Limerick 2
Boys Final
Tipperary 1 CBS Sexton Street, Limerick 3
ULSTER FINALS
The Ulster Futsal Finals for Post Primary Schools took place on Tuesday, 2 February in the Phoenix Centre, Carrickmacross:
The various local winners from Monaghan, Cavan, Donegal and Inishowen competed for the title of Ulster champions in both Boys and Girls categories: Both competitions were keenly and sportingly contested with the quality if anything better than last year: The competition was coordinated by Monaghan Development Officer John Crudden:
In the Boys event Our Lady’s, Castleblaney (Monaghan) had wins over Breifne College (Cavan) and Scoil Mhuire (Inishowen)and just losing to eventual winners St Columbas College (Donegal) on a 3/2 score line:
The Donegal School also defeated the Cavan School and with Scoile Mhuire from Inishowen also victorious over their Cavan counterparts, left the scenario in the last game between Donegal and Inishowen with the possibility of the competition being decided on goal difference: For this to happen Inishowen had to win and they duly took the lead after three minutes: With minutes remaining and the score still at 1/0, it looked likely that Our Lady’s Castleblaney were going to win the competition on goal difference, but a dramatic late equaliser followed by a further two goals sealed victory for Republic of Ireland Goalkeeper Shay Given former school – St Columbas College of Stranorlar:
In the Girls competition Baileborough Community School (Cavan) deservedly won this competition winning all three of their matches:
Wins over Our Lady’s, Castleblaney (Monaghan), Colaiste Cholmcille (Donegal) and Moville Community College(Inishowen) meant the Cavan School were crowned Ulster Champions: Their narrow victory over Inishowen winner’s Scoil Mhuire proved to be the crucial fixture:
Like the boys event there were many fine performers throughout the Girls Competition with a lot of quality on show:
Both winners will now go forward to represent Ulster in the All Ireland series:
CONNACHT FINALS
The FAI Schools First Year Futsal Connacht Finals took place on Wednesday, 10 February in NUI Galway: 5 boys and 5 girls teams competed on the day:
The boys section was very exciting with nearly 40 goals scored in 10 games with the 2 finalists only decided by goal difference after 3 teams had finished on equal points:
St Enda’s, Galway were the unlucky school to miss out on goal difference but played very well throughout the competition:
The Final was held between Davitt College, Mayo and Scoil Mhuire, Roscommon: It was a thrilling decider with numerous goal scoring opportunities and Scoil Mhuire emerged successful on a 3 nil scoreline:
The quality on display in the girl’s section was very good with Davitt College, Mayo emerging as winners when they defeated Ursaline, Sligo in a very competitive Final:
Eimer Flannery (Davitt College) scored the decisive goal, one of over 50 goals scored in the 10 girl’s games:
So congratulations to Scoil Mhuire and Davitt College on winning their respective competitions and best of luck to both schools in the National Finals which take place on the February 23 in the Fustal Arena, Dublin:
The event proved to be a huge success, with a high level of skill on a show and all games were played in a very sporting manner:
Boys Results:
Davitt College 3/1 St Enda’s
Summerhill 0/1 Scoil Mhuire
Mohill 0/4 Summerhill
Scoil Mhuire 5/3 Davitt College
St Enda’s 1/0 Scoil Mhuire
Davitt College 4/1 Mohill
Mohill 2/6 St Enda's
Summerhill 1/3 Davitt College
Scoil Mhuire 3/0 Mohill
St Enda’s 1/0 Summerhill
FINAL
Davitt College 0/3 Scoil Mhuire
Girls Results:
Davitt College 6/2 Taylors Hill
Ursaline 7/0 Mercy Convent
Carrigallen 2/4 Ursaline
Mercy Convent 0/3 Davitt College
Taylors Hill 6/2 Mercy Convent
Davitt College 5/0 Carrigallen
Carrigallen 0/7 Taylors Hill
Ursaline 3/2 Davitt College
Mercy Convent 1/0 Carrigallen
Taylors Hill 3/3 Ursaline
FINAL
Davitt College 1/0 Ursaline
END